


Against the Wishes of my Dreams

by sixbeforelunch



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Adaptation, Culture Shock, Gen, Racism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-07-17
Updated: 2007-07-17
Packaged: 2017-11-23 22:23:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/627161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sixbeforelunch/pseuds/sixbeforelunch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Earth culture isn't all roses and puppies. Teal'c knows this. Jack knows this. Doesn't make that fact any less awkward and painful, sometimes. Season 1.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Against the Wishes of my Dreams

O'Neill glances at him when they enter the mall, expecting questions, or perhaps a sense of awe. Teal'c has neither. It is not quite what he is used to, but this is a market to sell goods, like any other.

Teal'c is not as unfamiliar with capitalism as his teammates sometimes seem to expect. The market places on the worlds he has known lack such things as escalators and soft serve ice cream, but that is a reflection of the suppression of technology forced upon the population by the gods--false gods. Even after many months he still forgets sometimes that he now has the freedom to call the gods false. It is a freedom he seldom permitted himself while in the service of Apophis, even within the confines of his own mind. 

That the planets Teal'c has known do not have strip malls and drive-thrus has nothing to do with a lack of devotion to consumerism. The outdoor market on Vekesh'men stretches as far as the eye can see and brings as many devoted pilgrims as the occasional visits of Apophis. Indeed, even the Goa'uld conduct trade among themselves at times. He has seen vast caravans of ships stretch across space carrying goods from world to world.

People, Teal'c believes, are at a loss without something to devote themselves to. This culture in which he now finds himself seems devoted to the possession of things. It is an observation without condemnation. There are worse things to worship than the act of purchasing cooking utensils.

O'Neill intends to purchase a new fishing rod. The sporting goods store is large and Teal'c tires of O'Neill's quest quickly. When Teal'c asks if there is any reason he must stay, O'Neill waves him away wordlessly and Teal'c finds himself surveying training equipment, weights and treadmills, balance balls and stationary bikes. He thinks perhaps to purchase something, but there is nothing here that is not provided at the base gym.

The store is large, spread out to an extent that seems a waste of space. Teal'c walks around slowly. He must admit that light weight fabric is far more efficient and comfortable garb for sparring and strength training than the metal training armor of the Jaffa. 

Behind him he notes a thin man in the uniform of the store, watching him. Teal'c glances carefully in the mirror, checking that the blue knit cap provided to him by O'Neill is fully covering the emblem of Apophis which General Hammond insists must be hidden from the people of this world.

It is. Teal'c doubles back through the athletic shoes twice to ensure that he truly is being followed. He is, and by one poorly skilled. Observation reveals that the man is not dangerous. He does not carry himself as a warrior. Teal'c dismisses him, concerned only that something in his appearance and bearing is worthy of attracting attention. General Hammond seems concerned that he attract as little attention as possible from the civilians of this world. If there is something he is doing that runs counter to that order, Teal'c determines that he will find a way to fix it. He has found that he likes going out among the populous of Earth, he does not want to lose the privilege.

In the end, Teal'c chooses a device for strengthening wrists and hands. This he can keep in his quarters and use while watching the movies that his teammates have lent him. Terminator 2 is next on the viewing schedule, to be followed by West Side Story. He watches the movies them give him dutifully, though he prefers when they watch with him. Often, he finds the protracted arguments between his teammates regarding which movies are "classics" to be far more entertaining than the movies themselves. 

Teal'c meets O'Neill at the register, quest now concluded and new rod in hand. There are more aspects of the mall that Teal'c wishes to see, but O'Neill is not one to linger after his purchase has been concluded. They are soon out of the climate controlled interior and standing in the hot parking lot searching for O'Neill's truck among the sea of colored metal vehicles.

Teal'c does not think to ask about his experience until O'Neill has found his truck by arming and disarming the alarm and listening for the tell-tale beeps.

"Am I under surveillance by your government?" Teal'c asks as O'Neill carefully sets his purchase in the bed of the truck. If this is the case, the agents of the government need a great deal of training in covert observation.

O'Neill frowns at him as they get into the cab of the truck. "You shouldn't be. Not now. Why?"

Teal'c cocks his head slightly, surprised that O'Neill did not at least note the man following him.

"A store employee kept me under surveillance," Teal'c states simply.

O'Neill appears to consider this. "The squirrelly guy with the bad hair? I saw him. I didn't think he kept following you."

"He did," Teal'c says. "Is there something in my bearing which attracts attention?"

O'Neill raises his eyebrows and starts the truck. "Well...yeah."

"General Hammond has stated that he prefers for me to remain inconspicuous while among the civilian population."

"I gotta level with you Teal'c, that's...probably not going to happen."

Teal'c leans back and looks out the window as O'Neill drives the truck from the store parking lot. "I was followed because of my behavior then."

"Maybe. At least partly. Maybe." O'Neill's pauses, long enough that Teal'c begins to think the conversation has ended. When he speaks again, his expression is an odd mixture of anger and embarrassment. "Might have been because of your appearance."

Teal'c considers this. His appearance has been used to intimidate many times. He is large, even for a Jaffa. However. "There were several large men in the store."

O'Neill pulls the truck to a stop at a red light and looks up at the roof of the truck. "Not your size. Your skin color. Maybe. Can't say for sure, but...it's possible."

O'Neill taps his hand against the steering wheel, angry, though not at Teal'c. This is an anger he has seen many times, when O'Neill is frustrated and there is no one in the immediate vicinity that he can focus his anger on. If Daniel Jackson were here, he would say something provoking, to give O'Neill someone to yell at. Daniel Jackson is not here, however, and Teal'c suspects O'Neill would not yell at him even if he had Daniel Jackson's gift for knowing precisely what to say to make someone angry.

"I see," is all Teal'c says. He has heard of this prejudice among the Tau'ri. He has seen it in the movies and on the television programs. This is the first he has encountered it personally. Teal'c makes a mental note to be aware of such things in the future. It is unlikely this type of behavior would veer into the truly dangerous, but Teal'c believes in being aware of all aspects of a situation, to the extent possible.

The light turns green, and O'Neill pulls away from the mall and changes the subject, awkwardly.

Today, he sits in the over-cool cab of O'Neill's truck, considering the fact that unequal treatment based on appearance is, perhaps, more prevalent than he had been led to believe. Like malls, this is not a concept he finds hard to grasp. He has seen humans and Jaffa make distinctions between themselves based on many, many things.

Today he watches the cars on the road and the strip malls go by and listens as O'Neill attempts an awkward conversation about hockey.

Later, Teal'c will understand, to a point, O'Neill's discomfort. He will know the history of slavery in the United States and, indeed, in many of the countries of Earth. He will have conversations with Daniel Jackson about such things. He will see the discomfort that many have with the subject. He will understand this experience in its context and see it somewhat differently.

Later he will accept this facet of Tau'ri culture as unfortunate, but endurable. He will see the Tau'ri for what they are: flawed, human. He will understand that they are the civilization with the circumstances most advantageous to attacking the Goa'uld, but that they are not perfect. But this future knowledge does not make his current disappointment any less sharp.


End file.
